Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 248



Only Noblemtl

#248. First Victory (3)

The new palgyun department came running towards me in a hurry.

He handed me telegrams from each brigade and asked me questions.

“Are you planning to turn your troops around as soon as the destruction in the Nampo area is finished?”

Of course, even if they can’t eat it, they have to try. Now that they know that a brigade of guards has been annihilated in Nampo, the enemy facing them at Heukgyo has no choice but to retreat.

Now, it will be possible to use subordinate units offensively without any problems.

“Of course. We will restore the first line of defense in Hwangju. Send reinforcements from the remaining 4th Brigade troops in Pyongyang to the 7th Brigade, and tell them to push the enemy back to the rear of the front line.”

“Yes, sir!”

If done well, it would be possible to destroy additional enemies held captive in Heukgyo before the enemy’s follow-up divisions arrived.

It’s really greedy, but it might be possible if the enemies hesitate even for a moment.

“You gave a nice blow to the enemies who dreamed of becoming a sect!”

“It’s all thanks to having a good teacher.”

Posh spoke to me from the side with a very excited expression.

Was it because we, who had taught Japan in the French way, were destroying it in a nice way after having learned it in the Prussian way, or was it because we were properly looking for a way to take revenge in the near future?

“I’m thirsty because I fought so hard. Go and get me a glass of ice water.”

“Yes, inspiration!”

I gestured to the soldiers who had been following me since earlier and spoke.

Even without that, I realized now that I hadn’t been able to eat or drink properly since last night because I had been directly commanding the battle and giving explanations to the military attachés.

“What, what is that? You’re saying you drink it with ice floating on it in this cold winter?”

“It’s like coffee… Is that how you drink it on a cold day like this, Commander?”

Foch and Pershing looked at me with a slightly startled look as they looked at the coffee the orderly brought.

I thought he was wondering why I was drinking this on this cold day, but I smiled faintly and said.

“Koreans originally enjoyed iced coffee even if they were freezing to death.”

Well, I guess that’s what you meant when you said to die.

I also wanted to show them this pleasure that can only be enjoyed in winter.

“Oh, that’s cool!”

As if it were a scene from a Taedonggang beer commercial, I spoke a little exaggeratedly.

The staff and soldiers around them laughed, but Foch and Pershing looked astonished.

He seemed shocked by the fact that a crazy person would drink iced coffee in this cold winter.

The burning thirst disappeared and I felt alert as the caffeine entered my body.

And, the cold air seemed to seep into my body.

‘I should have just ordered a cup of warm coffee.’

I regretted it inside, but it was already too late.

Pershing, who was closing his coat again as he watched me like that, shook his head and said.

“···As expected, great generals think differently.”

“This may be the dawn of the 20th century.”

I answered, finishing my coffee. And as he spoke, the sun was slowly rising in the east.

The battle that took place in Pyongyang on November 6th was ending with our first victory.

We were able to stand on the ground as the victors of the most intense battle that illuminated the dawn of the 20th century.

At least for now.

***

“What?! The 1st Guards Brigade was destroyed?!”

“What happened to the other commanders? Why are you the only ones who came back?”

After a failed night attack, the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Black Trade, now in a stalemate, could see the defeated troops, crushed by cold, hunger, and fear of death, advancing upon them.

Division Commander Lieutenant General Asada called the survivors over and asked them several times what had happened, but all he got back were incomprehensible sounds.

“A massive enemy force destroyed our entire battle line. Except for a very small number of people, no one survived…”

“The enemies were like goblins. They appeared from the east and west and killed our officers and non-commissioned officers first! With no one to lead them, the soldiers were in disarray, and in the meantime, the enemies were killed one by one…”

“They were walking thunder, and in their wake there was nothing left···.”

In general, what we can glean from the terrified ones is fragmentary, but one thing is certain.

It was highly likely that the 1st Guards Brigade would no longer exist as of this time.

This was a situation where the staff officers of the 2nd Brigade, the regimental commanders, and even the brigade commander, who had calculated in their heads, had to be careful about talking about retreating.

“If our forces at Jinnampo were annihilated… I don’t know for sure, but that means the enemy must have mobilized two to three times more troops than our forces. If they use our bridgehead to enter Hwangju and cut off our retreat route, it will be a disaster!”

“There are troops from the 12th Division following us, but···.”

“We don’t know when they’ll arrive, but the enemies facing us are very close. If we continue like this and are completely surrounded from the front and back, it’s over…!”

Fear first swept through the command staff, not the lower-ranking soldiers.

The number of enemies was so great that it was difficult for them to make rational judgments.

And it was currently unknown how many of these enemies had been deployed to their front lines, or how many more were additionally deployed as reserves.

“Furthermore, with the enemy’s supply lines, including Jinnampo, still surviving, all our forces can do is retreat, join the following units, and reorganize their forces.”

“······.”

“Your Excellency, there is no time. If the enemy in front attempts a joint attack or delays our withdrawal, we may all face the same day. We must retreat now.”

“Even if we retreat, it will be difficult. The Roske cavalry are stalking our soldiers like wolves.”

“Don’t worry about that. I, Umezawa, and the 4th Regiment will take care of the rear guard. So we must withdraw immediately. If the enemies at the front realize what’s happening and launch an offensive, there’s no way for us to survive.”

Where on earth did it go wrong···.

In the end, it was a complete failure.

The division commander covered his face and couldn’t even answer. This was a problem that couldn’t be solved even by committing seppuku.

The fact that more than half of His Majesty the Emperor’s most elite sons were blown away here was a matter that will forever remain a shame in history.

If we wanted to save the remaining troops, there was no other way than to retreat as the staff had suggested.

I briefly thought about trying to break through Heukgyo again, but it was absurd.

Because it was a meaningless task that would just serve as cannon fodder for the enemy, nothing more or less.

“Your Excellency, Division Commander? Please make a decision.”

“···Withdraw the unit towards Hwangju. Wait for the follow-up unit there. And Colonel Umezawa, I’m sorry, but please take charge of the rear guard. Make sure the enemy gives up their pursuit somehow.”

“Of course, Your Excellency the Division Commander.”

He gave the order to withdraw in a weak voice.

Colonel Umezawa rushed out to gather up his regiment, and the staff began to hurriedly prepare for withdrawal, destroying everything they could not take with them.

Vice Admiral Asada no longer had any thoughts in his head.

However, the way back was extremely difficult and it seemed like more blood would be shed.

***

“Eww! Run away!”

“The enemy has broken through the defense line! Run quickly to the bridgehead!”

“There’s nowhere left to run! Hey, don’t push me! Don’t push me!”

The Japanese army, whose last line of defense leading to the bridgehead had completely collapsed, was now in complete disarray.

They tried to rally the survivors together and protect the rear of the retreating ranks, regardless of their formation or branch of service, as long as they could take up weapons, but it was all in vain.

At the front, cavalrymen in full breastplates, together with the enemy’s fierce infantry, shouted and swept away the broken defenses.

His throat was cut off by a cavalryman’s sword, and his entire body was torn apart by the enemy’s machine guns.

Soldiers who were unable to escape from the temporary defensive line were caught in the enemy’s storm-like attack and fell.

The enemy was constantly sending out troops and heading towards the bridgehead.

The wounded soldiers who saw this scene shouted for them to cross the river quickly, and the soldiers who were pushed back shouted and pushed them back.

“Brigadier General! The last line of defense has collapsed! It is only a matter of time before the enemy rushes into the bridgehead!”

Lieutenant Colonel Okata, commander of the Royal Guards Engineer Battalion, was speaking with tears streaming down his face.

His expression was close to that of someone who had already seen hell, and he tried to maintain the line of battle until the very end among the fleeing soldiers.

Since even he had given up on fighting, there was no need to say anything more about the situation.

As a result, the 1,000 or so Guards Division soldiers who had been forced into the bridgehead were now forced to make a choice.

The enemy showed no sign of stopping, and it seemed as if they were completely cornering them into the river behind them, forcing them to surrender or die.

“Can’t we just pull out the remaining troops…?”

“It’s impossible. The brigade command has completely collapsed, so how can the subordinate units be safe? The troops gathered here right now are the stragglers, the stragglers!”

The engineer battalion commander was right.

It was more accurate to say that the remaining troops here were a battlefield of complete disillusionment with infantry, artillery, and even some cavalry fleeing. The command that was supposed to control and command them had already been destroyed.

The 1st and 2nd Regiment commanders were also reported missing during the early morning attack.

The 2nd Regiment commander personally led the 3rd Battalion and rushed out to counterattack the enemy, and the 1st Regiment commander disappeared into the darkness, saying he would gather up the remaining troops of the 1st Regiment who were retreating, and was never seen again.

“There is really no way out now. We can’t retreat all these troops through the bridgehead!”

“Brigadier General, down to your left! Over there, over there, across the river!”

I heard someone gasping for breath.

“The enemy sent cavalry on our retreat···.”

When I turned my head, I saw the enemy cavalry lined up on the other side of the river, ready for battle.

There was no longer any way out.

“Damn it, how many reserves does he have left!”

I let out my helpless anger, but that alone wasn’t enough to break through.

The 1st Guards Brigade, now numbering close to 10,000 men, was now nothing but rubble, unable to move.

The soldiers who had lost their way began to cry, and in front of me, the enemies were forming ranks again and advancing like a wall.

“If this continues, we’ll all die! Are you planning on killing all those poor bastards?!”